Stencil-duplicating machine



Nov. 18, 1924. 1,516,228

E. .1. BRASSEUR v STENCIL DUPLICATING MACHINE Filed June 7, 1922 '7Sheets-Sheet l I M W W Nov. 18, 1924. 1,516,228

- E. J. BRASSEUR STENCIL DUPLICATING MACHINE Filed June 7, 1922 7Sheets-Sheet 2 Nov. 18, 1924. 1,516,228

E. J. BRASSEUR STENCIL DUPLI CATING MACHINE Filed June 7; 19 22 7Sheets-Sheet 5 Nov. 18, 1,516,228

E J. BRASSEUR STENCIL DUPLI CATING MACHINE Filed June '7, 1922 7Sheets-Sheet 4 amvem coz Nov. 18, 1924;

E. JQBRASSEUR STENCIL DUPLICATING MACHINE 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed June '71922 Q Q avwemtoc E. J. BRASSEUR STENCIL 'DUPLICATING MACHINE 7Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed June '7 1922 Nov. 18, 24- 1,516,228

E. J. BRASSEUR I STENCIL DUPLICATING MACHINE Filed June 1922 '7Sheets-Sheet 7 avwe'ntoz Patented Nov. 18, 1924.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ERNEST J. BRASSEUB, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNEASSIGNMENTS, TO A. B. DICK COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATIONOF ILLINOIS.

STENCIL -DUPLICATING MACHINE Application filed June 7,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ERNEST J. BRAssnoR, a citizen of the United States,residing 1n the city of Chicago, county of Coolr, and 5 State ofIllinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inStencil-Duplieating Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to stencil duplicating machines.

This application and an apphcatlon filed by me on even date herewith,Ser1al Number 566372 both relate to the same subgect mat-' ter and bothshow broadly my invention 1n so far as the same relates to mechanism'for feeding, stripping, and securing registration of sheets, and to themeans for driving the various parts of the machine. In my said otherapplication Serial Number 566,472 I have claimed such mechanism andmeans broadly. The claims in the present application include claimsdrawn on a specific embodiment of my said broad invention. Y

My aim is to provide a stencil duplicating machine which is durable inconstruction, easy to operate, one which operates smoothly andefficiently with a minimum of noise, and

at a high speed, if desired; one which gives accurate registration inprinting, and positively feeds the sheets into the printing couple forprinting and positively strips the sheets from the printing couple; anda machine which operates efficiently and surely upon sheets within anunusually Wide range of widths and thicknesses. The objects of thisinvention include the provision of a stripping mechanism which operatespositively to strip the sheets from the printing couple. Another objectof this invention is to provide a stripping mechanism which alsooperates to feed sheets successively into the printing couple. A furtherobject of this invention is to provide a duplicating machine equippedwith a feeding and stripping mechanism whereby printing registration issecured with the utmost accuracy. A further object of this invention isto provide a feeding and stripping mechanism for duplicating machinesand the like, which is durable in construction, and positive, accurateand noiseless in operation, and which will operate surely andefficiently upon sheets within 1922. Serial No. 566,473.

, a wide range of width and thickness. further object of this inventionis to provide a duplicating machine equipped with simple and eflicientmeans for tensioning one member of the printing coupleyand means wherebysaid tensioning means may readily and easily be adjusted manually. Otherobjects will be in part obvious and in part pointed out hereinafter. IIn accordance with my invention as disclosed both herein and in my saidco-pending application, I provide a sheet-gripping device which, duringthe operation of the machine, moves to a point adjacent the feed tableor apronwhere it grasps a sheet thereon and then, while carrying thesheet along, moves to and beyond the printing couple to feed the sheetthereto and to positively strip the sheet therefrom, and, when it hascarried the sheet to a certain point, it drops the sheet and returns toits original position to grasp the next sheet placed on the feed tableand to repeat the above cycle of operations. The movement past theprinting couple is preferably tangential to the members of the printingcouple where they coact to print a sheet, and the movement issynchronized with the movement of the printing couple. The grippingdevice includes operable means for gripping and for releasing a sheet,said means preferably comprising jaws, which are operable into closedposition to grasp a sheet between them, and which are operable into openposition to release a sheet held in the jaws' or to straddle a sheetwithout gripping it. I provide means for moving the gripping device asabove indicated periodically and in established synchronism with themovement of the printing couple and other parts of the machine, and Ialso provide means whereby, as the gripping device moves along its path,the gripping means are operated to first straddle and then grasp a sheeton the feed table or apron each time the device reaches a certain point,and to maintain the hold until the sheet has been fedforwardlyiinto theprinting couple for printing, and beyond the printing couple so as to bestripped therefrom and brought to a certain point where said meansoperate the 1y during the operation of the machine by means of asprocket which meshes therewith and which rotates in the propersynchronlsm with the printing cylinder, so that when sheets aresuccessively placed in a predetermined position on the feed table orapron, each sheet thereon is grasped at the same place by the grippingdevice, and the printing on each sheet will be in the same relative.

position thereon. The niechanism is 'adjustable so that the position ofthe printing on a sheet may be accurately predetermined, and whichadjustment maintains for all successive sheets and until the stencil ischanged or a. readjustment is made. This is termed securing registrationin printing; The actuation of the gripping device to graspthe paper atthe proper time, to maintain the hold on the sheet until it has been fedinto the printing couple for printing and has been stripped therefrom,and to release the sheet at the desired place is obtained by means ofone or more cams suitably positioned along the path of travel of thegripping means. The cams are adapted to coact with a projection orroller carried on the gripper and connected with the jaws to effecttheir-closing and opening.

In order to permit adjustment-ofthe impression roller relative to theprinting cylinder in accordance with different thicknesses of the sheetsbeing operated upon, I provide spring means for yieldingly supportmgthcimpression roller in operative position and provide means including aratchet and pawl whereby the tension of the spring yieldin r means maybe varied and latched in adjusted position.

In order that a clearer understanding of my invention may be had,attention is hereby directed to the accompanying drawings, forming apart of this application, and illustrating certain possible embodimentsof my invention. In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a rotaryduplicating machine embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a top view of thesame; Fig. 3 is an enlarged top view of a portion of the machine, showing the gripping device in position to grasp a 'sheet on the apron,certain parts being broken away and others being omitted for the sake ofclearness; Fig. 4 is an enlar ed side view of a portion of the machine,ta en.

on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3, and shows the gripping device open; Fig. 5 isan .enlar ed detail side View of the gripper moved orwardly of theposition shown in Fig. 4, and

closed upon a sheet; Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional View of a portionof the machine and is taken on the llne 66 of Fig. 2; Fig.

I ;7 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 7-7 of Fig. 3;Fig.8 is an enlar ed sectional View taken on the line 88 of ig.

6; Figs. 9, 10 and 11 are detail views of the 1 in device .Fig. 9 beingtaken on the T515 95) ofFig. 5, Fig. 10 being takenon the line 10'10 ofFig. 9, and Fig. 11 being taken-on. the line 11-11 of Fig. 4; Fig. 12 isan enlarged sectional View taken on the line 1212 of Fig. 2, certainparts being omitted and other parts being broken away for the sake ofclearness. Similar reference characters refer to similar partsthroughout the several viewsof the'drawing's.

Referring tothe drawings, the duplicating machine illustrated is of therotary type, comprising the frame 1, rotary print-ing cylinder 2 mountedfor rotation on removable pins 3 and 4 carried in the side pieces 5 ofthe frame 1. Cylinder 2 is driven by means of handle 6 operating througha train of gears 7, one of which rotates on pin 3 and is engagedeccentrically by pin 8 carried by the cylinder. A set screw 9 locks pin3 in place. The cylinder may readily and easily be removed by looseningset screw 9, pulling pin 3 outwardly, and releasing pin 8 from the gear.The cylinder may as'easily be replaced. In the usual place below theprinting cylinder is the impression roller 10, which, in thisinstance,-is removablycarried between the ends of two U- shaped levers11, which are secured at their other ends to shaft 12 which is rotatablycarried on the two sides 5 of the frame 1. Adjacent each lever 11 is abell crank lever 13 pivotally carried on brackets '14 and 15 secured tothe frame. Each bell crank lever 13 has a horizontal arm extendingforwardly, at the outer end of which is a pin '16 to which is attachedthe upper end of a Wardly and is adapted to be engaged by a cam 19secured to a shaft 20 which is rotatably supported in brackets 21 on theframe 1. On one side of the machine and outside of frame 1 a crankhandle 22 is so cured to the end of the shaft 20. This handle issupplied with a pivoted pawl 23 which is adapted to engage in any one ofthe various notches of a ratchet segment 24 which is secured to theoutside of the frame 1. The arrangement of the above describedimpression roller tensioning mechanism is such that when the crank 22 ismoved to the right (Fig. 12), the cams 19 move the bell crank levers 13to' wing pins 16 upwardly and increase'the tension of the springs 17,and thus increases the yielding resistance of impression roller 10during a. printing operation, which is desirable when heavier sheets arebeing printed. To decrease the tension, as when lighter sheets areprinted, the crank 22 is moved toward the left (Fig. 12) the properdistance and latched in place. Such adjustments may be made as well whenthe machine is in operation as when it is at rest. 1

The frame 1 of the machine also support the usual feed table or apron 25which supports a sheet and guides it into the printing couple. Dependinglugs 26 on the bottom of table 25 pivotally support a plate 27 whichpresents a plurality of fingers 28 through suitable perforations 29 inthe feed table 25. A leaf spring 30 secured to the under side of thetable 25 engages the finger plate 27 to normally hold the fingers 28extended through the perforations 29 so as to stop a sheet of paper fromfurther progression along the upper surface of the paper plate,

and to properly align its forward edge with the printing couple. Thefinger plate 27 has an upwardly extending finger'31 carrying a roller-32which is adapted to be engaged at the proper times during the operationof the machine by a cam 33 carried on the outside of the printingcylinder to cam the finger platejdownward and to move the fingers out ofthe path of a sheet on the table and to permit the sheet to pass intothe printing couple. The printing couple consists of the printingcylinder ,2 and the impression roller 10.

At one side of the machine, and preferably at the sideopposite thehandle 6, I mount an endless chain 34, which carries a sheet grippingdevice 35, to effect the suc cessive feeding of the sheets into theprinting couple and the stripping of the. sheets therefrom. This chainis of the roller type and runs horizontally in a specially constructedtrack which is supported on the frame of the machine. This horizontalchain is built up of a'series of vertical members 36, each having at thetop a vertlcal supporting roller 37 rotatably mounted between twoflanges 38. Some distance below the roller 37 each member 36 has aninwardly extending horizontal flange 39 provided with two downwardlextending pins 40. At the lower end of t 1e vertical member 36 isanother inwardly extending horizontal flung-e41 which also has twodownwardly extending pins 42. These members 36 are joined together toform the chain by means of horizontal links 43 and 44, each lmk 43engaging contiguous pins 40 of adjacent members 36, and each link 44engaging contiguous pins 42 of adjacent chain members. The ends of.these pins are tamped to hold the links in place, To reduce friction awasher 45 is placedonieach pin at each side of a link; Each forward pin40 of the upper flange 39 carries a horizontal roller 46 and each rearpin 42- of the lower flange 41 carries a horizontal roller' 47.Theserollers are adapted to run in vertical grooves or channel tracks tohold the chain in place while reducing friction to a minimum. The trackfor this chain may be provided by one or more metal castings which aresecured to the frame of the machine. As shown, there is a tier of threestraight castings 48, 49 and 50 providing the straight portions of thetrack and two castings 51 and 52, one at each end, supporting turntablesfor guiding the chain around the corners. The lower casting 48 issecured to" frame 1 by bolts 53. Along each side of this casting 48 is astraight rabbet 54; Vertical strips 55, preferably of fibre, are securedby screws 56 to the sides of the casting 48 and form'with the rabbet 3portions 54 a groove or channel track in which the lower horizontalrollers 47 of the chain are ada ted to run. Horizontal confining strips5 also of fibre, are secured by screws 58 to. casting48. Strips 57cooperate withstrips 55 to prevent overmuch lateral play to rollers 47and to reduce friction. A second casting 49, similar to casting 48', issecured to the top thereof by means of screws or bolts 59. At the sidesof this second casting 49 are straight horizontal rabbets 60 similar torabbets 54 in casting 48, and associated therewith are similar verticalstrips 61 of fibre secured thereto by means of screws 62, andhorizonalong which are secured, as by means ofscrews 66, vertical stripsof fibre 67, andbetween which strips the upper vertical rollers 37 ofthe chain are adaptedto run. Rollers 37 are supported by these lowerstrips and upward displacement of the chain is prevented by the upperstrips, which are arranged in suitable proximity to the tops of therollers 37. At each end, where the chain turns a corner, I mount foradjustment on the frame of the machine a casting, such as 51 and 52.Each casting 51,, 52 rovides a lower and a central bearlng for arotatable carrier or turntable which supports the chain at the ends andguides it around the corner. Each carrier comprlses a rotatable verticalshaft 68, the lower end of which is mounted in the lower bearing 69 andextends through the central bearing 70. At each bearing there is ananti-friction device, which, as shown, comprises a. lower bearing plate71 resting on the top of the bearing portion 69, 70, and an upperbearing plate"72 secured to the shaft 68,

plates 71 and 72 providing a ball race for ball bearings 73. Shaft 68 isheld against displacement upwardly by a locking ring 74 which may besecured in adjusted position on the shaft 68 just below bearing portion70. At the upper end of shaft 68, and close to tracks 67, I attach forrotation with the shaft, a horizontally disposed disk 75, the uppersurface of which 1s on line with the upper edge of the lower trackstrips 67, so that the upper vertical rollers 37 of the chain will ridefrom strips 37 onto disks 75 and off again without jar. Below disk 75and on shaft 68 is secured another horizontal disk 76, which has agroove or recess 77 extending about its periphery in line with trackstrip 63, the. end of. which is seated tangentially in this recess sothat horizontal rollers 46 will pass freely from track 63 to theperiphery of this disk without jar, and when these rollers have turnedthe corner they will be directed smoothly and surely to the track 63 onthe other side. Above the lower bearing 69 and similarly aligned withthe lower track strip 57 is a similar horizontal disk 78 secured to theshaft 68 for rotation therewith. strip members 57 of the lower trackhave their ends seated within the peripheral. recess 79 of disk 78. Theperiphery of this disk member 78 constitutes'a continuation of trackstrip 57 just as disk 76 constitutes a continuation of track strip 63,and similarly aids in guiding the chain around the corner smoothly andwith a minimum of friction. The castings 51 and 52 which carry theturntable disks 75, 76 and 78, preferably are secured for adjustment onframe 1 of the machine by means of screws or bolts 80 which extendthrough elongated perforations 81 in the casting, thus permitting thetension of the chain to be adjusted, and the chain to be adjusted bodilyon the frame to a limited extent.

As the chain moves, the upper vertical supporting rollers 37 travel uponthe upper edge of the lower track strip 67 and will be steadied by thelower edge of the upper track strip 67. will be confined between theouter confining track strip 61 and the inner horizontal confining trackstrip 63. Similarly, the lower horizontal rollers 47 will be confinedbetween the outer track strip 55 and the inner horizontal confiningtrack strip 57 of the lower channel track. When the chain members '36reach a corner, each upperroller 37 passes smoothly and without jar tothe upper surface of the upper disk 75, and the two inwardly extendingflange portions 39 and 41 of the chain members, and the rollers 46 and47 thereon will ride onto the periphery of the other two disks 76 and78. Disks 75, 76 and 78, by being attached to shaft 68, rotate inunison. To insure noiselessness in operation and to decrease friction,the track strips and the two lower rotatable disks are made of fibrematerial. Preferably, how- The horizontal.

The upper horizontal rollers 46,

consisting of a vertical plate 82 which has a horizontally extendingfinger 83 constituting the stationary jaw. Plate 82 is securely 1attached to one member 36 ofthe chain, as by means of a plurality ofposts 84 riveted to the plate 82 and to a chain member 36. Pivoted onthe stationary plate, as by means of screw 85, is a movable jaw memberwhich comprises a vertical plate 86 having a horizontally extendingfinger 87 constituting a jaw which is movable toward and from thestationary jaw 83. The stationary plate 82 has a bent over portion 88providing a groove in which a portion 89 of the movable jaw member isslidablyf seated to guide the jaw 87. A spring 90 coiled about the screw85 has its ends connected respectively with a pin 91 on the stationaryjaw member 82, and a pin 92 on the movable jaw member 86,

holds the jaw members normally in separated condition, as shown in Fig.4. A stop pin 93 on the stationary jaw member prevents undue separationof the jaw members. The movable jaw member carries pivoted thereto, asby means of a stud 94, a downwardly and rearwardly projecting lever 95which carries a roller 96 at its outer .extremity. A stop finger 97 issecured to the stationary jaw member to limit the down ward movement oflever 95. A wire spring 98, heavier than spring 90, is fulcrumed at thestud 94, and has one end engaging with pin 92 and the other end engagingthe hub of the roller 96, normally maintaining lever 95=and its roller96 in their lowest positions, irrespective of whether the grippingdevice is in open or in closed condition. The upper stationary jaw 83 ispreferablv provided with roughened tabs 99, and the lower movable jaw 87is provided at its outer end with a rubber pad 100, in order thatwhen asheet of paper is'gripped between these two jaws it will be held therebypositively and without danger of its slipping.

The chain 34 is so positioned relatively to the paper feed plate 25 andto the printing couple 2, 10, and the sheet gripping device 35 ispositioned on the chain 34 at such a height, that when the papergripping device the sheet gripping device engages a cam plate 102 whichis supported on the frame 1 of the machine by means of screws or bolts.103. The cam plate 102 has an inclined cam surface 104 at its inner endleading to a horizontal cam surface 105 which extends to another sharplyinclined surface 106 at the other end of the cam member 102. These camsurfaces are in the path of the roller 96 of the sheet gripping deviceas it is carried along by its chain, and cooperate therewith to closeand open the gripping device at predetermined points along its pathoftravel. The cam 33 on the cylinder 2 is so arpanged that it willcooperate with the roller 32 of the finger plate 27 to remove thefingers 28 from out of thepath of the sheet 101 just before the grippingdevice 35 has taken hold of the sheet to carry it forward into theprinting couple. The cam track 102 .for the sheet gripping deviceextends beyond the printing couple and is arranged to keep the sheetgripping device closed upon the paper until the gripping device hascarried the paper into the printing couple and has stripped ittherefrom. At the desired point beyond the printing couple, thecam'track 102 falls off, as at 106, and when the gripping device reachesthis point, the movable jaw 87 of the gripping device moves away fromstationary jaw 83 under the action of spring 90 and releases the paper.If the paper has not been carried completely through the printingcouple, the rotation of the printing couple will continue the forwardfeed of the paper. The gripping device, at all events, has positivelystripped the end of the printed sheet from the printing couple and haspositively prevented the sheet of paper from adhering to the'printingcylinder or to the impression roller for rotation therewith.

The cam track 102 referred to has associated with it an'up er trackmember'107 which is formed by anging the top of the bracket 15 and whichconfines roller 90 of extending groove 109 into which the lower edge ofplate 82 of the stationary jaw member of the gripping device is adaptedto enter and in which plate 82 slides as the gripping deviee is moved.To decrease noise and friction. plate 108 may be of fibrous .material.To further insure positive gripping of the sheet by the gripper, and toprevent rebound of the jaw members, there is at- .tached to the frame'1of the machine by screws or bolts 109, a bracket 110 which carhes aroller 111 in such position that it will bear downwardly upon thestationary gripping member ,83 from above as the lower member 87 isbeing pressed against it from below to grip a sheet. of paper.Preferably, also, a portion of the Inside u per track member 67 where itis adjacent the table 25 and the printing couple, is constructed ofmetal, as at 112, so that the chain will be further stabilized, and toprovide a-more rigid'fan'd sturdier confining track for taking theupward thrust imparted to chain rollers 37 when the ripper roller 96rides upward oncam trac 102. Also reenforc- 'ing link members 130 may beapplied between members 36 of the chain near the gripper.

The chain 34 is driven in synchronism with the printing cylinder 2 bymeans of a sprocket wheel 113-which is secured, as by means of a setscrew, key or pin 114, to pin 4, which has secured to it, by-rneans of aset screw, key or pin, a lever 115 which ex tends radially along oneside of cylinder 2 and at its outer end has a pin 116 which engages in asuitable recess in cylinder 2, so that sprocket wheel 113 will rotate inunison with cylinder 2. To steady pin 4 its outer end is rotatablyseated'in a perforation provided therefor in a bracket 117 which restsupon and is secured to casting 50 of the track by means of bolts 118.The teeth 119 are in mesh with rollers 37 of chain 34 to effect thedriving of the sheet feeding and stripping mechanism. Preferably, chain34 carries a single gripping device 35, and in this case the number ofteeth on the sprocket wheel equals the number of rollers 37 so that forevery complete revolution of cylinder 2 the chain 34 will have made acomplete circuit. When the machine is set up to rint, the position ofgripper 35 and cylrint in the desired place or places'upon a sheet fedthereto by gripper 35. Since gripper 35 moves in exact synchronism withcylinder 2, and grips each sheet of paper at exactly the same place,each sheet of paper subsequently fed to the printing couple during thecontinued operation of the machine will receive the imprint in exactlythe same lace or places. This feature is of utmost importance in thisart and is commonly de- I fined as securing registration. \V hen rollersare relied upon to secure the. feed of the sheets of paper-there is apt.to be some slippage caused by the failure of the rollers tc positivelygrip the sheets or by improper buckling of the sheets. This has been themethod heretofore used.

The paper table 25 is. equipped with one or more of the usual adjustablelateral paper guiding plates 120. If desired, the slde member may beused as a fixed lateral guiding plate at the side where'the gripper 35operates. The usual roller 121 may also be provided over plate to holdthe paper against this plate and insure of the paper being in properposition for being picked up by gripper 35. To provide room for thegripper as it moves, a portion of plate 25 1s cut away as at 122, and aportion of the cylinder 2 is also cut away as at 123. Since gripper 35extends inwardly of side frame .member 5 at this side of the machine,this member is cut away and at its outer end is supported by a bracket124 which is secured upon the to of casting of the chain track by means0 bolts 125.

. In the gripper 35 the object of pivotally mounting r0 ler 96 on plate86 of the movable jaw member'and providing spring 98 is to dampen theshock when roller 96 strikes and rides upward on cam track 102 and alsoto permit the gripper to take care of sheets of paper or card card, orthe like, of, dif ferent thicknesses within a very wide range.

' Since gripper 35.engages a sheet close to its margin and preferablyclose to its front edge, my improved machine will successfully andaccuratel print sheets which are very narrow and s ort. chine operates uon sheets of dliferent I "widths and lengt s within a very wide range.

The machineis set up by mounting the cylinder in proper relativeposition with the gripper 35, wit the sprocket connected for rotationtherewith and in mesh with the chain.

The stencil sheet 126 may already have been mounted on the cylinder 2 inthe usual manner,or it may be now placed thereon. vThe machine havingbeen set up and adjusted, and the stencil placed on the cylinder,arrangement isv made for feeding sheets of papersuccessively to thepaper table 25 either by hand or by any suitable automatic means. Thelateral paper guides plates 1 20 and roller 121 are adjusted to properlyguide and position the sheets according to their width. Each sheetpasses forwardly on the table 25 until its front edge is arrested bythe. fingers 28 of the paper stopping device.

These stops 28 place the forward edge of the sheet to be printed in thei desired alignment with the cylinder 2, and

the forward edge'of each sheet'should' be brought snuglyagainst'thesestops. When a sheet is in this position, operation of themachine brings cam 33 on the cylinder into engagement with the roller 32of the stop plate 27 to move the stops 28 out of the path of the sheet,and simultaneously brings the gripper 35 into the plane of the sheet andalong cam track 102 so that it will grip In consequence my mathe sheet,and, upon further operation of the machine, will. carry the sheetforwardly into the printing couple and beyond the same until the gripper35 passes the end 106 'of 'the cam track 102, whereupon the gripper willloosen its. hold upon the sheet and permit it to drop. Meanwhile, thesynchronism between the cylinder 2 and the gripper 35 is such that asthe gripper 35 carries the sheet into and past the printing 6, thegripper 35 is carried around by the chain until it is again in positionto grip and carry along the next sheet which in the meantime has been1properly positioned on the table 25 against t e stops 28. Thus afterthe machine has been adjusted for the particular size of the sheetswhich are to be printed upon, it is only. necessaryto effect the properfeed of the sheets to the table 25 and to turn the handle 6 to print asmany copies as desired. Obviously, the machine may be drivenmechanically instead of manually. p I

It is to be noted that the positive forward feed of each sheet and itspositive stripping from the printing couple is obtained automatically bymeans of a gripping device which moves forwardly in the plane of thetable 25 and substantially tangentially to the printing cylinder and theimpression roller where they oppose each'ot-her. The gripperautomatically and positively clamps itself upon each successive sheet tobe printed. Slip'page in the gripping action is positively prevented,and the gripper continues to positively keep its grip on the sheet untilit has carried the sheet into the printing couple and has stripped thefor-.

ward portion of the sheet from the printing couple. As before pointedout, this gripper is adapted to operate successively on sheets varyingconsiderably inthickness.

It is desirable tomake an adjustment in the rinting couple for variousthicknesses of s eets. According to the construction above described,whereby the impression roller is mounted so as to be yieldingly pressedtoward the cylinder 2, the tension of the compression rollerinay bereadily and easily varied for different thicknesses or quality of paperby making a corresponding adjustment of handle 22.

Obviously, means to prevent the lll'lPl'OS- sion roller from contactingthe printing cylinder or a stencil thereon when no sheet is in positionto be printed, may be provided. Such mechanism, however, is well knownand forms no part of the present invention, and, therefore, nodescription thereof is included herein.

Another advantage of my machine is that it may be run at very high speedwithout sacrificing efiiciency or accuracy in registration. Moreover,with this machine it is unnecessary to drive the cylinder through atrain of four or more gears, as heretofore required to drive sheetfeeding and stripping mechanism, etc. associated with the machine.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and manyapparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be madewithout departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all novelmatter contained in the above 'descrip tion or shown in the accompanyingdrawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limitingsense.

What I claim is 1. In a duplicating machine, mechanism fordeterminingmovement of a sheet fed to said machine, said mechanismincluding, in combination, a sheet gripping device operable into and outof sheet-gripping condition and movable bodily along an estab-' lishedpath, means for positively guiding said mechanism in said establishedpath, said means including vertical and horizontal guide membersjmovablewith said mechanism, means normally maintaining said device out ofsheet-gripping condition and means coacting with said device atpredetermined places along said path. for operating said device intosheet-gripping condi tion, and means for moving said device along saidpath.

2. In a duplicating machine, mechanism for determining movement of asheet fed to said machine, said mechanism including a movable endlesschain and a sheet gripping device movable vertically, said grippingdevice comprising, in combination, a plate having a jaw portion, amember pivr oted to said plate and providing a complementary jawportion, and spring means engaging said plate and said member, normallyholding said jaws in separated condition,

said endless chain comprising a plurality of connecting verticallyextending members held against lateral and vertical displacement.

3. In a-duplicating machine, mechanism for determining movement ofasheet fed to said machine, said mechanism including a movable sheetgripping device comprising, in combination, ,a plate having a jawportion, a member pivoted to said plate and providing a complementaryjaw portion, and spring means engaging said plate and said member,normally holding said jaws in separated condition, a projecting leverpiv-,

I tracks otedto said pivoted jaw member, and a spring connected withsaid lever and said member yieldingly holding said lever in apredetermined position on said member.

' 4;. In a duplicating machine, mechanism for determining movement of asheet fed to said machine, said mechanism including a movable sheetgripping device comprising,

in combination, a plate having a jaw portion, a member pivoted to saidplate and providing a complementary jaw portion, and spring meansengaging said plate and said member, normally holding said jaws inseparated condition, a projecting lever pivoted to said pivoted jawmember. and

a spring connected with said lever and said combination, a movableendless chain and a gripping device secured to said cha n fortransportation thereby, said chain including a plurality of connected,vertically extended members, each carrying a vertical roller at the top,a horizontal roller near the bottom, and another horizontal rollerintermediate said other two rollers.

6. In a duplicating machine, mechanism for determining movement of asheet fed to said machine, said mechanism including, in combination, amovable endless chain and a gripping device secured to said chain fortransportation thereby, said chain including a plurality of connected,vertically extended members, each carrying a vertical roller at the top,a horizontal roller near the bottom, and another'horizontal rollerintermediate said other two rollers, and supporting and, guiding meansfor said chain, said meanscomprising a supporting track for saidvertical rollers supporting said chain members, a confining track abovesaid vertical rollers, confining said chain members against upwarddisplacement, confining for said horizontal rollers, guiding andconfining said chain members against lateral displacement, andturntables at the ends of said tracks for supporting and guiding saidchain members around a corner.

7. In a duplicating machine, mechanism for determining movement of asheet fed to said machine, said mechanism including a movable sheetgripping device comprising, in combination, a plate having a jawportion, ,a member pivoted to said plate and providing a complementaryjaw portion, and spring means engaging saldplate and said member,normally holding said jaws in separated condition, a projecting leverpivoted to said pivoted jaw member, and a spring connected with saidlever and said member yieldingly holding said lever' in a predeterminedposition on'said member, a roller on said pivoted lever, a cam,stat1onary on said'machine and adapted to .coact with said roller tomove the jaw portion of' roller coactswith said cam.

8. In a device of the character described, in combination, printingmechanism including a rotatable printing cylinder, a feed table, a paperstop associated with said feed table normally in operative position tostop progress of a sheet thereon, operable means for placing said stopin inoperative position to permit a sheet to be fed from said table,sheet-gripping means adapted, during the operation of the machine, to bebrought periodically to said table and to be operated to grasp a sheetthereon and then to be moved to feed asheet so grippedfrom said table,and means movable in synchronism with said gripping means for operatingsaid stop placing means to place said stop in inoperative position whensaid gripper feeds a sheet from said'table, said means including aroller carried by said paper stop adapted to co-act with a cam on saidprinting cylinder during rotation thereof.

'an operable sheet gripping device mounted on said chain for'movementtherewith in a circuit which is. substantially tangential to saidcylinder, means,comprising cams along the path of movement of saiddevice and adapted to coact therewith, for operating said device, a feedtable, operable sheet stopping mechanism associated with said table,

a sprocket wheel connected with said cylinder for rotationsimultaneously and in established synchronism therewith and in drivingmesh with said chain, a cam carried on said sprocket adapted to coactwith said operable sheet stopping mechanism at stated times during therotation of said sprocket to operate said mechanism, and means connectedwith said cylinder for rotating the same, whereby said cylinder isrotated and said gripping device is moved and operated in its circuitand said sheet stopping mechanism is operated simultaneously and inestablished mutual synchronism.

10. In a device of the character described, in combination, printingmechanism including a'printing cylinder and a co-actingimpressionroller, mechanism" for determining movement of a sheet fed to saidprinting mechanism, said last named mechanism ineluding an endless chainand a gripping'de' vice secured thereto, said endless chain 1ncluding aplurality of connected vertically extended members adapted to berestrained from lateral and vertical displacement, and

ERNEST J. BRASSEUR.

